WORD 2day

31st May, 2013

Mary visits Elizabeth... the just chosen Mother of God goes with haste travelling all the way through the hill country to her cousin Elizabeth.. to be of service to her and to give praise to God for the marvel the Lord has done for her and her cousin! Today the lectionary gives a choice of first readings...Zeph 3 or Romans12:19-16... I wish we choose to reflect on the letter to the Romans...Zephaniah is good, but stops with an indication to Mary as the favoured 'daughter of Zion'. Mary is much more... some one who loved genuinely, some one who held fast to good, someone who outdid everyone in showing affection and honour, some one who rejoiced in her hope, someone who was constant in her prayer, someone who rejoiced with those who rejoiced and wept with those who wept and above all, someone who served the Lord (in serving the brothers and sisters)...only a person who is ready to serve the others, can be called 'unconceited'...and only such a modest person can heartily sing, 'My soul magnifies the Lord...he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid'... The message is clear... to imitate this first Christ-ian... to follow her footsteps to holiness... to strain ourselves and go in haste towards our brothers and sisters to be of service... to be her worthy children, to be truly brothers and sisters of her son, Jesus Christ!

WORD 2day

30th May, 2013

To see is a task, a life task. All the while that we are, we think we see, but infact we may not. Seeing what we want to see, is not seeing! Yes, I see, but just what I can. The world around me has more to be seen, more to be observed, more to be marveled at, more to be celebrated and more to be grateful for. With a mind so centered on myself and my concerns, it becomes increasingly difficult to see and all that is out there cries to be seen, marveled at, be thanked for. It's grace that enables me to see... to see the works of the Lord, the marvels of the Lord's Word, the splendour of the Lord's wisdom ... it is the Lord who enables me to see! And Bartimaeus reminds me of what has to be my constant prayer - 'Master, let me receive my sight.'  Let me receive my sight, that I may be able to see beyond myself, beyond my own concerns and well beyond my tiny little world - yes Lord..that I may see!

WORD 2day

29th May 2013

Jesus had a tough task to accomplish! He had to deconstruct the whole lot of conceptual contraptions that were in place when he lived among the people. Like we hear from Sirach, a longing to see the destruction of those who persecute, a impatience to behold the fall of the unjust, the restlessness to witness the death of the wrongdoers and the rise of the chosen ones...these were rooted deep within the psyche of the people then. Wait a second... why do we talk of those people...let's think of ourselves today! Don't I complain against the flourishing corrupt and the languishing innocent? Am I not restless to see the wrongdoers punished right in from of my eyes! Don't I long to see the fall of those who seem to be on the top of the world looking down on everyone else, with such contempt and condescension! May be Jesus even today has the same tough task, the same incomprehensible logic to teach...to be servant and to be the least...to serve and not to be served. It's a tough call to be a Christ-ian. 

WORD 2day

28th May 2013

Giving... giving is of various types... giving from what I have, giving from what I need, giving from what I am! Specially when it comes to giving the Lord, the highest mode of giving is from what I am. And when i give from what I am, I am not aware of it. When I am so conscious of what I give to the Lord - some times it happens - I give and keep reminding the Lord that I have given... When I know and remember that I have given, infact I haven't given! I am still holding on; I still possess. Like that Master who told the king, who offered him a present to be accepted as a disciple, "drop it!" Even after the king dropped the present, the Master kept repeating "drop it", until the king realised the Master did not ask him to drop the present but to drop that "I", the ego, that gave the present. It is in our nothingness we are most valuable before the Lord. That is why the teacher in Sirach suggests, do not offer him a bribe..or an unrighteous sacrifice...with him there is no partiality. Let our offering to the Lord today be our whole self, the simple self, our nothingness!

WORD 2day

27th May 2013

Hoarding wealth, heaping treasures, gaining profits, bank balance and swollen wallets... these seem to be the dreams proposed for a 'normal' person today! And to have these realised, a person seems to go to any extent... cheating, fraudulence, betrayal, letting down, perfidy and even killing and devastation find their place in today's world. And to some one who wishes to remain sane and distant from such craze, the world seems a strange place. Before long, they begin to feel discourage and distraught. It is to them the Lord speaks today. To those, whose endurance is failing, the Word speaks today and them, it wants to encourage! One  may wonder what would happen to these who are termed 'idiots' and 'good for nothing'... to them is the Reign of God promised. You wish to know how that would be made possible: "for all things are possible for God!"

We are the IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF THE TRIUNE GOD

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

26th May 2013

The Solemnity of the Holy Trinity is not merely a celebration of the Mystery of what God is, but it is a reminder of WHAT WE ARE!

We are the Image and Likeness of God... We are created in the image and likeness of God and We are called to be the image and likeness of the Triune God...for the world today.

To be the Image of the Father: FAITH, 

that is...

... to reflect God's PARENTHOOD in the stewardship we show towards the creation and the care we extend to each other as brothers and sisters! Humaneness comes from here.

... to possess the PATIENCE that God has with us, creating us, making a covenant with us and open and merciful every time we break that covenant! Forgiveness sprouts here.

To be the likeness of the Son: HOPE,

that is...

... to live with the OPTIMISM of a child, to see in all that happens and despite all that happens around us, the mysterious presence of God! Serenity springs here.

... to submit in OBEDIENCE like a real disciple; for one who loves obeys the commandments as Christ obeyed the Father! Salvation sprouts here.

To be the likeness of the Spirit: LOVE,

that is...

... to be filled with COMPASSION, to burn with love for the other, leading to action that manifests faith and hope within! Mission begins here.

... to create COMMUNION of hearts wherever one is, fighting against all source of division, discrimination and discord! People of God are born here.

May God today make us Exemplars of Faith. Hope and Love!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit...Now and forever. Amen.

O my divine Bread from heaven!

WORD 2day

25th May 2013

'Their ways are always before him, they will not be hid from his eyes.'

The verse from the first reading says it all...like a mother who has her eyes always on her child, as she is about all her odd jobs...always looking at what the child is upto, what the child is playing with and what the child needs...that is how God looks at each of us...telling us, as another verse says, "beware of unrighteousness". The readings remind us of our origins.. We are from the hands of a God who has loved us into existence! We were children... all of us, we were children so innocent and pure and to be always that, is our call. To remain children...  not meaning merely weak and vulnerable, but being totally dependent on God, truly simple and innocent and spontaneously loving towards each other. Let us heed the call and inherit the Reign of God.

FEAST OF MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

24th May... Mary Help of Christians...

These are terms that are so so sweet to the ears of any salesian! Don Bosco's Madonna, Our Lady Help of Christians, is celebrated today with so much joy and gratitude for the guidance and providence felt through her all through the year and all through the life of a salesian. 

At times, I have felt (as I do even now), that the title Mary Help of Christians, is a bit too sectarian and fanatic sounding. However, the term has a historical significance that cannot be denied or done away with. It is not merely a title but a faith expression of a people of a particular period of time, who experienced God's closeness to them through a special intervention of the Blessed Mother of God. 

The battle of Lepanto won in the 16th century was a victory of the Christians over the Muslim oppressors; and Don Bosco's experience of a ever present mother in the Blessed Mother, specially when the Waldensian anti-catholics were up against him, made him polemic about the Lady help of Christians. For a Salesian today this experience is not merely handed down from Don Bosco as a tradition, but experienced and shared on a daily basis with a presence of this Mother, so close and caring. The invocation Mary Help of Christians, Pray for us...could be traced back right up to John Chrysostom of the 4th century, historically seen from the 16th century; but is identified with a spirituality lived and passed on by Don Bosco to his sons and daughters.

Though today many, like me, substitute this invocation with a neutral 'Mary Our help', the original title evokes a specific faith experience that underlies an affectionate relationship a Christian should have towards this Heavenly mother so graciously gifted to us by the Saviour. Mary Help of Christians, Pray for us.

WORD 2day

24th May 2013

Relationships of true love... are signs of the presence of God! The readings today invite us to a reflection on this dimension of our daily life. The first reading draws our attention to a 'faithful' friend and the Gospel speaks of the faithfulness that should exist between two persons brought together in holy matrimony. Faithfulness is the key, to understand the Word today. God made the covenant with the people and till the end God remained faithful to that covenant. Hosea draws a parallel to this faithfulness of God, by projecting Israel as the spouse of God, but an unfaithful one at that. Faithfulness can make us in ordinary life, a shelter, a price-less gift to the other, a life-saving remedy; and in faith life it can make us worthy of God! In a time when we see all around us breach of trusts, breakage of hearts and bribery made a rule, Faithfulness is the imprint of God within our beings!

WORD 2day

23rd May 2013

Have salt in yourself and be at peace with one another - a queer combination! But that is the mind of Christ. Be righteous yourself, but do not judge others. Let not your righteousness cause you to look down on others, for that will already be a loss of righteousness, in Christ's terms. Righteousness - Being Right - or in very simple terms being good. The most crucial problem of our times is that we have lost the sense of sin, said the illustrious theologian Karl Rahner. Subjectivism, relativism and individualism have taken away the simplicity of Christian life. We believe something, profess something and live something totally different. Let us strive to bring the Christian Simplicity back into our lives. Let what we pray, what we believe and what we live be the same... this was the earliest mode of Christian living. Without straining to find out where down the line have we lost it, let us resolve to make it present today, here and now.

WORD 2day

22nd May 2013

The Holy Spirit present amidst us is the guaranteeing element of our rectitude. St. Paul writes to the Corinthians saying, "no one who speaks by the Spirit says, 'Jesus be cursed' and no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit" (1Cor 12:3). Jesus introduced the Spirit to us as the Divine Counselor and that is what the first reading today underlines - the Wisdom, following which we are sure of being on the right. Speaking on the feast of the Pentecost the Holy Father said, 'the Spirit creates disorder in the Church' and added 'through the variety of charisms and gifts the Spirit inspires.' It is from this disorder that the glory of the Lord will go forth. Monopolising is not Christ-ian...'do not forbid him' Jesus tells John today in the Gospel. The onus is on each of us to behold the charism and the gift that the Spirit has entrusted each of us with and live it to the full. The more we live it, the more we love the Spirit and the more we love the Spirit the more we love life! LET US LIVE OUR FAITH EVERY MOMENT OF OUR LIFE.

Pope Francis Speaks on the Holy Spirit

WORD 2day

21 May 2013

We seem to live in days of delusion. Injustice and Corruption at all levels, falsity in every field from politics to sports, total despise to human dignity both at the public and private spheres of life, killing of the innocent and oppression of the weak, throttling the throat of the have-nots with the arms of greed - everything that we see around cries foul. Is this what the book of Sirach, calls the 'temptations' to be prepared for, the 'time of calamity', ot the 'testing in the fire'? Be whatever it may be, the invitation is clear - to be prepared, to be steadfast, and not to turn aside! The metaphors of Jesus with the image of a servant  and the child, converge on one point - to be dependent on the Lord! 'Cleave to him and do not depart', challenges the wisdom of Sirach. To remain in Him, is the constant call. Everlasting joy and mercy are with Him..and we shall surely possess it in abundance and share it with the rest, if and only if we remain with the Lord.

WORD 2day

20th May 2013: Monday, 7th Week in ORDINARY TIME...

After a long time it reads, 'Ordinary Time'... the challenge of 'faith' is to keep it alive during the 'ordinary' time, during the ordinary moments of life! High excitements, peak experiences, moving moments, miraculous events, adventurous fortunes... these bring out the best of our faith expressions! But the test is the ordinary phase of life, which is the reality for the most part of our life. Those are the moments, when we will have to see the presence of God in every ordinary thing, every ordinary person around and every ordinary experience of the day...that is the Wisdom that resides in the creation that the first reading speaks of today. And when we are faced with that challenge and we find it so difficult to really see through and perceive the element of God, we are taught today to pray, 'Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!'

People of the Spirit

Solemnity of Pentecost: 19th May 2013

A day when we have to wish the Church, happy birthday!...and as every birthday is a day of reminder to grow up, to mature.. also for the Church today is a day of reminder to grow up and mature as the Reign of God, the ultimate purpose of the Community of faith on earth. The Church does not exist for herself, taught Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, on 19th Feb 2012. The Vatican Council II instructed us the same truth, while saying the Church exists to proclaim and plant the seeds of the Reign of God. The reminder comes from the first instances of the birth of the Church... the event of the coming of the Spirit. Today for the Church and for every Christian to grow up and mature, the presence of the Spirit is indispensable. 

How do we recognise the presence of the Spirit? There are three signs today suggested by the Liturgy of the Word to ascertain the presence of the Spirit.

1st Sign: COMMUNION (I Reading)

The first sign of the presence of the Spirit is Communion. When they spoke in various tongues, every one understood in their own language. The first gift of the Spirit is the 'oneness of heart and mind' that is achieved by the gift of UNDERSTANDING. Where there is division for the sake of ego and personal opinion, where there is manipulation for the sake of having one's ways, the Spirit is absent! Any division of the hearts of the children of God is created by the evil spirit! Communion, the fruit of Understanding, does not in anyway mean a homogeneous uniformity. It is a divine blending of differences. Yes, the Communion offered by the Spirit is born out of a RESPECT FOR DIFFERENCES which are appreciated as the richness that is so natural in the very creation of God, the differences that are brought in a harmonious symphony by the Spirit. 

One who possesses the Spirit of the Lord, uses the gift of UNDERSTANDING that arises from an authentic RESPECT FOR DIFFERENCES, to bring the people of God together, as community of people with one heart and one spirit.

2nd Sign: COMMISSION (II Reading)

The second sign of the Spirit's presence is Commission. A commissioning which begins with a CALLING... as we are called into one community in the Risen Lord, called to be children of God who call out, 'Abba Father'. This calling does not end with a domestic understanding of being children cuddling at home, but a call that fills us with the FIRE OF MISSION, for we are not filled with the Spirit of cowardice to fall into fear, but the Spirit of adoption that urges us on to go forward and live a life of witness, that is bold and befitting the one who called us.

One who possesses the Spirit of the Lord, is aware of the CALLING that one has received and is courageous to bear witness to that calling with the FIRE OF THE MISSION, that burns from within as Jeremiah says.(Jer 20:9)

3rd Sign: COMPASSION (Gospel)

The third and the most fundamental sign of the presence of the Spirit is COMPASSION, without which the very name 'Christian' has no meaning absolutely. Compassion is an active form of LOVE, the only expectation that the Lord has from us - to love each other as the Lord loves us. Love, is not a mere feeling but a feeling with, it is feeling with the other, what the other feels. While speaking of the Early Christians it was said they were of one mind and one heart - that was love. While St. Paul instructs, 'Rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn' (Rom 12:15). That is true Christian love, that is the way that the Lord loved us. To love is to LIVE LIKE JESUS. Fundamentally, this is what the Spirit enables us to be - to be like Jesus, to live like Jesus. Hence, 

One who possesses the Spirit of the Lord, is filled with LOVE and vows to LIVE LIKE JESUS.

The coming of the Spirit was a radical change of lifestyle for the disciples and all who believed in Christ. Today, if we are to celebrate this feast with real meaning, there has to be a radical evaluation of our life style - whether we promote communion, accept our commission and burn with compassion! If we do, we are the people of the Spirit.

Come Holy Spirit, Fill us with your Fire!

WORD 2day

18th May 2013

We are very close to the commemoration of the event that changed the face of the earth... which initiated the story of a community that made the earth look totally new! That community had to wait after they were convened by the Risen Lord, till they were filled with the power from above. Today in the readings we read of two more who waited for their time...Paul who was in imprisonment and John whom Jesus said would remain till an appointed time. As they waited, be it Paul in the prison, or John the evangelist, or the community which kept waiting but vibrant... they were all convinced of their faith and were committed to share it. Praying for the Spirit means, preparing for the Spirit. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is truth (1Jn 5:6). Let us pray for the Spirit, the truth that sets us free, the truth that enlightens our life and the truth that becomes our way! Come, Holy Spirit, Fill us with your fire! 

WORD 2day

17th May, 2013

Paul and Peter...both prepared and getting ready for persecutions... for the love of the Lord. What they experienced in the Lord was so great that these persecutions and tortures meant nothing. That is what the world calls 'passion', being passionate about something. How passionate am I with regard to my faithfulness to the One who has loved me unconditionally..that's the question that is posed to me today. The context in which the question is raised is very important...the days when we are preparing to behold the greatest gift of the Risen Lord to humanity... the outpouring of the Spirit. It is the Spirit who fills us with the passion that we see with Paul or Peter or any apostle or any martyr for that matter. Let's pray that the Spirit fill us with that same passion for God and passion for God's people!

WORD 2day

16th May, 2013

"That they may all be one, as you and I are one," prays Jesus... Being of one heart and one mind is a sign of being God's people. Looking for the ideal persons to live in peace and friendship is not the concept of the people of God. The Community is built up in constant forgiveness and unconditional acceptance. Dialogue and discernment are a daily need, not just in the society at large but even in the closest circle of family and friends. This is possible only if there exists among us the love with which God has loved us! That is why Jesus prays that we have amidst us the love which exists between God and the Son of God (Jn 17:26), the same love with which God sent God's son for our salvation and renewed the everlasting covenant with humanity! "For God so loved the world..."(Jn 3:16). Loving Communion among us, is a solid sign of the presence of God's love in and through us. May we all be signs and bearers of God's love to the world!

WORD 2day

15th May, 2013

Praying as a community! Paul knelt and prayed with them (acts 20:36), Jesus lifted his eyes to heaven and prayed (Jn 17:1)... leading us by example. Once when I was a deacon, I was invited to talk to a group of teachers and the theme was "Prayer". I spoke for almost an hour and had the participants listening with an enviable attention! When I finished it and was about to leave the classroom, quite happy because everyone liked the talk, there was one of the teachers who came up to me and thanked me for the talk and said, "it would have been more meaningful, if you had really prayed with us!" I have never forgotten those words, even after 8 years. Prayer is not something we speak about, plan and execute; it is something that we are called to become... to become a 'Pray-er'. It is basically to remain in God, to remain consecrated in Truth, inspite of all the tribulations and trials against faith and truth. Both Paul and Jesus, pray for the same today! Let's pray for the same too...that at the coming of the Spirit, we as a community of brothers and sisters, be strengthened in faith, to remain in God, to bear fruit and live 'consecrated in Truth'!

WORD 2day

14^th May, 2013

Mathias is added to the list of the 12… the account presents us with three criteria to be worthily part of the band of ‘Apostles’. It will do us good to look at these three criteria, and apply it to ourselves, whether we can be counted as being part of the group of apostles. The first of the criteria is, a personal, first-hand experience of Christ – not just what we read from authors or heard from preachers, not merely what someone shared or what someone else felt, but the impact of what I have experienced of Jesus, the personal encounter that I have had with Christ. The second criterion is being a witness to Christ before the world, specially in a world that runs madly after wealth, ease, power, social acceptance and public image! The third is the Choice of the Spirit – you did not choose me, no I chose you declared Jesus. It is the Spirit who chooses, empowers and uses one as an instrument! Our responsibility is to REMAIN, to remain in the Spirit and bear abundant fruit.

Feast of Mary Mazzarello

Go to Video: Maria Domenica Mazzarello

May 13, 2013...

Feast of St. Mary Mazzarello, a girl who grew into a woman of faith, a saint who noticed the saint in the priest John Bosco and wanted keenly to follow that saintliness, a person who was totally open to the Spirit and believed that the Spirit guided her through this person called John Bosco... St. John Bosco and St. Mary Mazzarello - an evidence of a relationship and a shared vision that has given rise to a great enterprise, as Dominic Savio termed it, 'a business of salvation of souls'... a beautiful mission of accompanying the young to their destiny, that is Sanctity.

WORD 2day

13th May 2013

We are invited to a new phase this week... to prepare ourselves for the great feast of the Pentecost, the birthday of the Church! Yes, the Church was born with the recognition of the presence of the Spirit. They had seen the marvels of the hand of God...and then they witnessed with their eyes the wonders that Jesus performed and the signs that he gave. But they had no idea, who this Spirit was! They knew God had a Spirit and God was Spirit! But Jesus and the encounter with Christ, introduces them to the person of the Holy Spirit, and there the Church was born. The apostles spoke of the Reign of the God, and there were two important features of the Reign: First, the Trinitarian Communion, the new perspective of the One God we believe in; Secondly, the fact that the Reign of God as the reign of peace, a peace that 'has overcome the world'.

The 7Up from the Lord...

12^th May 2013: Ascension of the Lord

As the Lord goes up, let us reflect on the 7-UP

1^st Reading: THE EVENT: Christ ascends to the right hand of the Father!

                Christ, GAVE UP the divinity and became like one of us (Phil 2)

                He GOES UP today, by his obedience and fulfillment of the Divine Will (Heb 10:7) 

                He will SHOW UP leading everything to its fulfillment (Heb 10:36)

2^nd Reading: THE EFFECT: You and I are made worthy to accede to the presence of God!

                We are RAISED UP by the fact Christ became like us…

                We are DRESSED UP by the virtue of our baptism, and

                We are BUILT UP into the family of God.

Gospel: THE EDICT: You shall be my Witnesses to the ends of the Earth!

                We are challenged to STAND UP for the Lord in the World today!!!

WORD 2day

11th May 2013

"I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father." Jesus was clear right from the beginning about where he belonged and where he was bound to! Much of our problems arise from our lack of self understanding. When I forget where I come from - not merely the geographical data, but my ontological origins (the origin of my very being...In Him we live, move and have our being-Acts 17:28) I get lost in the immediate things of life, the trivial concerns, the momentary joys, the misleading priorities and so on. How many of us feel so torn by these disturbing tendencies, that we lose the very meaning of our life! Today, its opportune to pray to the Lord, saying, "God my Father and Mother, may I never forget that I come from you and to you have I to return; and in the mean while never should I forget, I belong to You and You alone!"

WORD 2day

10th May 2013

I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you! The joy that the Risen Lord gives, is primarily the Lord's presence with us! That is what he promises St.Paul (I Reading), "Do not be afraid...for I am with you!" In the presence of the Lord is the fullness of joy, says Psalm 16. And this joy, nothing or no one can take it away from us, for the Lord shall never leave our side. Should I face a mighty mountain, or a valley dark and deep..the Shepherd of my soul will be my guide. All that I need to do is remind myself, in all that I find myself through, that the Lord who loves me is by my side, and all I need to do, is trust, believe and live, live to the full, with the joy that the Lord alone fills me with!

WORD 2day

9th May 2013

Your sorrow will turn into joy. My heart today turns to so many known to me, who are experiencing this inevitable reality - SORROW. Economic concerns and debts, elderly or sickly parents, unprecedented sickness of a loved one,helpless situations of terminal illnesses, the struggle of a non acceptance and rejection, a lack of meaning  inspite of things done with much effort, continuous challenge to personal worth and failures that persistently pull down the self esteem, the list is on… ‘Sorrow’ turning to joy – that Jesus promises today can mean so many concrete experiences to persons such as these whom we have reminded ourselves of. Primarily from the point of view of faith, after the example of St. Paul (I Reading) and Christ himself, this 'turning to joy' is a process from within. An internal process of maturation - a joy from within - an experience of the faith, an assurance of an intimate presence of the Lord in the midst of this 'sorrow' - an experience of growth, a Maturity in Faith.

WORD 2day

8th May 2013

"When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked..." Some experiences are beyond our grasp at an initial instant, some experiences may be totally confusing while others may leave us with nothing to say. It is easier to dismiss them or find someone to blame them on, than to remain with those experiences in patience and faith, to come to grips with what they really mean and what they have to offer us. The beautiful expression of Anselm, 'faith seeking understanding', is a grace! "When the Spirit of truth comes, the Spirit will guide you into all the truth"... the truth of what i am upto, the truth of who i really am and what i am called towards. Once again today, as always, Lord my prayer is, "Let your Spirit guide me O Lord"!

WORD 2day

7th May, 2013

"What must I do to be saved?"... that must have been a very familiar question those days! We hear that addressed to Jesus by the rich young man and in a little different words by the disciples. Later, to the disciples it is addressed quite a few times as recorded in the Acts. After Christ has been raised, the question infact is redundant! For Jesus says, I shall send you the Holy Spirit and the Spirit shall enlighten you on everything. Today, we live as people of the light, for whom everything should be clear as things in a daylight. Lack of sense of sin, compromised vision of righteousness and a careless attitude of judgement, is what we witness today in the world, sometimes sadly within each of us! Might be, that our values, priorities and choices blur the light that the Spirit wishes to shed. Let us submit ourselves to the Spirit and pray, 'Let your Spirit guide me O Lord'!

Feast of Dominic Savio, a young giant of sanctity! god give me the conviction that i am called to be a saint!!!

God with us and God within!!!

6th Sunday in the Eastertide: 5th May, 2013

The readings today sum up the readings we have been listening to in the past week. There is a kind of a premonition of some feeling nostalgia, which is already there and yet to come. Its a kind of feeling that the students of the Higher Secondary have before they close for their study leave... a feeling of 'lot-to-do' and a feeling of 'are-we'missing-each-other'... Jesus keeps telling his disciples that they need to learn to live on their own, not that he is about to abandon them, but that they have to graduate to the next level. Jesus prepares them too for the same. These are the days when the first communities of Christians were getting together. They felt something uniting them, but still felt all the differences among them. That is the crux of the Word today... we are called to live as a community... a community of persons who feel so united because of something that unites us, something that is with us and within us...inspite of all the differences that is among us.

The fundamentalist group that creates the commotion, the reaction of the rest, the emergency council convened and the heated discussion therein, the misunderstanding between two top leaders, the break-up : we are not talking of some thing that happened in the neighbouring parish these days, but what happened in the Early Church, right in the Acts of the Apostles. We are a community of human persons each with our own ego, our own interests and personality traits. There are differences of opinions and perspectives, without that there is no richness and variety.

I am reminded of a analogy given by Paulo Friere, highlighting the difference between a pavement and a mosaic - both made of smaller units which make up the whole; the former made of units that are of same size and shape to create the uniform pavement that we see on the sidewalks of a road, the latter a grand art formed by tiny parts each in different shape and size and shade adding its uniqueness to bring out ONE GRAND MASTERPIECE. 

To be God's people we are not called to sacrifice our uniqueness, rather we are called to live it to the full - 'I have come that you may have life, and have it in abundance!'(Jn 10:10) We are not called to sweep under the carpet the differences and the disagreements we might have - Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.(2 Cor 3:17) To be God's people all that we need to do is be mindful that we are God's people - that is to be conscious that inspite of our differences we have something that unites us. 

It is the fact that we are called by One Lord - Jesus Christ. It is the Risen Christ who forms the community! The Risen Lord lives with us and within us!

It is the Spirit of the Lord that keeps us together. 'Let your hearts not be troubled!' says the Lord today... When I see in my community human elements of ego and pride, misunderstandings and slandering, discouragements and dirty politics - let your hearts not be troubled... face it with courage, wisdom and grace that the counselor brings you! 

The secret is this:

Feel God living with you and within you: note the way the disciples handled the discussion...'For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us' ... the expression is fantastic... speaking of the Holy Spirit as someone who lived with them and decided along with them... that is the faith that sustained that holy community! That is feeling God with you and within you!

Fall back on the Community for a discernment: whether you are the leader of the community or one of the members of the community, fall back on the community for a process of discernment. Deciding on one's whims and fancies is not going to help, you have a community convened by God, find God's will as a community for the good of the community.

Find the Light of God illumining your life: the light of the Lord shines on you and you walk in the light! There is no need to confound yourself for in the light there is nothing that is hidden. What is needed is the eyes of faith and a patient heart. The Spirit of the Lord teaches you all that you need to know, provided you feel the Spirit's presence and yearn for the Spirit's direction!

What a People we are - God the Father and Mother, has called us; the Risen Son of God unites us and the the Spirit of the Living God enlightens and leads us! What a People we are! 

Let all the Peoples praise you O Lord! Let all the Peoples praise you!

WORD 2day

4th May, 2013

Being accepted by the world, being loved by those around becomes a concern par excellence today! Rejection by someone close, indifference of someone considered a loved one, becomes so unacceptable and unbearable. When things happen in life, that are not in keeping with what we expect, however good the expectations may be, it makes us question the very basics of our life, sometimes even our faith. The ability of the apostles to see things that go wrong in the light of faith... as 'forbidden by the Holy Spirit' and 'not allowed by the Holy Spirit'... is a challenge for us today! From the perspective of faith, nothing can disturb us. But how much i need to grow in faith to have this childlike surety! Sure we will reach that state, when we "know" the One who loves us and sent His only son for our sake! Thank you Father, for your love.

WORD 2day

03.05..2013 - Feast of St. James and St. Philip, Apostles

The Lord appeared to James (I reading), and Philip asks to see the Father (Gospel)…We look for signs, we look for assurances, we long for a miracle or a wonder to stand in awe and recognize the presence of the Lord among us. As we celebrate the Apostles today, the Word invites us to be grateful for the gift of faith, and not just that, to grow in faith. Troubles, hardships, failures, broken relationships, deceptions, disillusionments, darkness, dryness and hurdles – nothing should make me question the presence of the Lord with me and within me! Injustices, inhuman acts, treacherous behaviours, violence and vicious atmosphere – nothing should make me question the presence of God’s everlasting love and the joy and hope it holds out to the world. That is maturity in faith. Lord I believe, increase my faith!

WORD 2day

2nd May, 2013

That my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full...! Grace, is God's presence with us, a presence that fills us with joy, freedom and serenity. The presence of the Lord with me and within me, is the grace that makes me see, hear and sense the right things at the right time, it helps me have a clear priority in life and puts everything in life into perspective. When I don't perceive or sense that presence of the Lord close to me, i become blind to the Truth. Christ offers me today a fool-proof criterion for priority in life - as the Father has loved me, i have loved you; ABIDE IN MY LOVE. Abiding in God's love is the grace that saves me... not what i do, not what i give up, not what i accomplish with great effort and sacrifice. Christian vocation is just one - to abide in God's love. 

WORD 2day

1 May, 2013: St.Joseph the Labourer

We see the readings suggesting two decisive moves of God... One, making the Human person liken to Godself (I reading) and the other, making the Son of God liken to the human person (Gospel); both defined by the work of one's hands. True, we are called to be like God, in what we do...to be Co-creators with God in what we are able to positively contribute to our existential environment. And in being human beings, we are identified very often with what we 'do'...and that is justified to a certain extent, after all Jesus did not resent being called the 'son of the carpenter.' But the point here is a tender warning from God - 'mind what you do' and 'be mindful of what you do' - an invitation to look at whatever we do, as an occupation, as a participation in the continual process of Divine Creation of the Universe.

Today, the occasion warrants an additional thought... a thought about those who labour! All those who labour, need our appreciation and affirmation today. But specially those who labour and the labour goes unnoticed, unrecognised, unrewarded, under-rewarded, taken for granted, manipulated and exploited... they deserve and solicit our solidarity and commitment towards justice and a just world.